


Seeing the Light

by akirel



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: F/M, I'm crying, I'm still crying, honestly crying, read this for heartbreaking experience
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-16
Updated: 2016-02-16
Packaged: 2018-05-21 01:23:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6032962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akirel/pseuds/akirel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ben Solo has been trapped for so long by Kylo Ren, his Dark side. It's time he fights back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Seeing the Light

**Author's Note:**

> Caution: You may cry.

**_Polarize - Twenty One Pilots_ **  
**_Heavydirtysoul - Twenty One Pilots_ **  
**_Monster - Imagine Dragons_ **

Before there was Kylo Ren, there was Ben Solo.

Ben Solo was a troubled child since birth. Leia had known, but Han hadn't. Han was there, blissfully unaware of the child slowly turning into a monster.

Leia had tried. She had tried many times to tell Han the truth. She failed. And when he took off to return to smuggling, she knew that all hope was lost. He would never know what their child had become.

Ben was losing. He was losing control over his actions, his words, and he would lose control of his mind, reduced to the nagging voice in his own mind.

His evil side had named himself Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren was ruthless, he was evil, but he was a coward. Ben was disgusted at Kylo's deep immersion in the dark side. He was heartbroken at what he himself had become.

He was weak. He wasn't like Master Yoda, whom he had heard of from his uncle's many tales. He wasn't like his uncle, who had gone into hiding.

He didn't even know about his own cousin. Maybe Kylo had already killed her, or worse, tortured her till death, leaving her and her Force ghost traumatized forever.

Still, there was hope. Ben had hope that he could redeem himself and defeat Kylo once and for all. There was hope that his cousin, Rey, was still alive. There were only silvers of it, but Ben was determinate that he could save himself. He could save the world.

________

Kylo saw it every night. Ben Solo screaming in agony as his father- their father- plummeted to his death in the bowels of the Starkiller weapon. He had felt something that was so painful to remember for a moment, and he was paranoid that the good in him will break free once more of his clutches, if he were to agitate his light side another time.

He had been feeling the pull to the Light again. It hadn't called to him since... Jakku. It was Jakku where he had felt a presence so strong, so strong in the Light, it overwhelmed him. It was the young girl who called herself Rey.

Kylo had felt a strange attraction to the girl dressed in beige, but he had passed it off as another attempt by the Light side in him to turn him back to the Light.

Oh, how he hated to say that the Light side was turning him _back_. He never had any affiliation with the Light, he liked to believe, but he knew. He knew that he used to be a Padawan.

He would never forget the pain he had been put through. He would never forget his hate towards his family, and most importantly, _Luke Skywalker_.

________

Rey had felt a dangerous aura in the Force, anger and hatred swirling in it. She knew, that it was the aura of Kylo Ren. She could track him down, but her training with Master Luke wasn't complete, and even a fool would know that it was unwise to go after a fully-trained Sith Lord in her inexperienced state.

"Have you felt anything, Rey?" Master Luke's voice snapped her out from her meditation trance.

"I have, Master," she answered, slightly shaking from the crazed power she felt, "I felt... hatred, fear, and anger. Anger towards _you_ , Master."

"Anger towards _me_? Young Padawan, you have felt the Sith you oppose. You have felt-"

Master and Padawan finished at the same time, "-Kylo Ren."

"Come, Rey. We need to fix up the Millenium Falcon quickly. Get Han-" the great Jedi stopped in mourning for his late friend whom he had heard was dead from Rey.

"Master?" the girl asked, obviously recognizing the sadness in his eyes, "Master, we have to go."

______

"Hi, is this Olivia's Spares?"

"Yes, Olivia here, what might you need, miss?"

"I need a new gravity flux compensator. Do you have one of those?"

"Coming right up, miss. Do you have any more additions?"

"No, thank you."

"What do you have in exchange for your compensator?"

The question startled Rey for a while, then she remembered Master Luke's prototype droid which was given to her in order to exchange with the trader.

"Do you accept prototype droids?"

The trader nodded, and the deal was settled.

________

All hope was almost lost. Ben was losing the fight for the millionth time. He was tired, and he knew that Kylo would love to watch him- or what was left of him- squirm after his defeat. But he would not weaken. He would not make the same mistakes as he had before, succumbing to the dark side as quickly as it called to him. He would redeem himself, forever. It was too late for Kylo, but never too late for him.

The two were like fire and ice. They contrast the other. And fire and ice _never_ mixed. One would have to prevail over the other. And Ben _had_ to win. He _had_ to.

________

Kylo had to win. His Light side was weak, but he was strong. Although they all called him a coward, he was going to prove them wrong by defeating his Light once and for all. It was the last time, he would never be conflicted ever again. Yes, he was selfish, but all of them were, right?

He wanted to hear Ben scream in agony as he had when he got rid of their father. He wanted to torture him, even if it meant him sacrificing himself for the greatness of the Dark.

After all, this was who he truly was. He was going to be stronger than Darth Vader. He was going to _finish what his grandfather started_.

________

Leia knew. She knew that Ben was there somewhere. She could still feel him, barely fighting against the monster which was Kylo Ren.

She wished that Ben would win each time the two were in conflict, but every time he'd lose. She wished that this time wasn't the same, that she'd see her son again. She had hope that Ben would prevail over his darkness.

Hope was all she needed, but she felt that her end was nigh.

________

Kylo was on the move. He was going to get rid of Luke Skywalker and Ben Solo once and for all. But Ben would not go down without a fight. He was going to defeat Kylo with his own weakness: regret.

What better to prevail over yourself than using your own weakness? What was better than having the aid of the Force, to do good?

It was already his last resort. If he couldn't win over his darkness by brawn, he would have to win by brains. And it had to work.

It had to, for the sake of his family. For the sake of his uncle. For the sake of his _mother_. For the sake of Rey. Kylo was going to kill them all, and Ben was going to stop him, even if it meant getting himself killed.

________

Kylo was blind. He had no idea that Ben was plotting to use his weakness against himself, to make him regret all the things he'd ever done.

He never knew that his grandfather, who he had idolized once he learned about him, had felt his hatred and was planning on teaching him a lesson.

His reign would end, and he didn't know it.

________

Anakin felt Kylo's rage. He knew that Ben was somewhere there, as he had been when he donned the black mask and called himself Darth Vader. He knew that Ben would rise once more out of the clutches of Kylo Ren, he could feel it.

But it didn't mean Kylo wouldn't go down without a fight.

Anakin was going to take part in the final battle. He was going to end what he ended before his grandson had started again.

It wasn't too late.

_________

Kylo heard a voice calling to him, it was distant, but clear, strange, but weirdly familiar, as though he had heard it before.

 _"Kylo Ren_ ," the voice whispered, " _I wish to converse. Meet me somewhere private, I will show you things you haven't seen._ "

He looked around, there was no one there. He knew that it was the doing of the Force, that it was calling to him.

Although Kylo knew that curiosity killed the cat, he trusted the dark side of the Force, which only called to him when he needed it.

He decided to listen to the voice and meet whoever it was right then.

He was going to be foiled, and he didn't know it.

________

Ben was in shock as he heard his grandfather's voice. Were his plans going to waste with the intervention? Who's side was his grandfather on?

If he was on Kylo's side, all his hope was lost. All lost.

He remembered the Jedi code, which Master Luke taught him all those years ago,

_There is no emotion, there is peace._  
_There is no ignorance, there is knowledge._  
_There is no passion, there is serenity._  
_There is no chaos, there is harmony._  
_There is no death, there is the Force._

He submerged into a meditation, preparing himself in peace and serenity for the mental battle that was sure to ensure. He would save himself, let Kylo see the truth.

He knew that he would have to fight.

________

Kylo had had a vision. It was of a man with blond locks, having the same presence as Darth Vader. His presence was overwhelming, powerful, but strong in the Light.

_In his vision, he couldn't move and was rooted to the same spot._

_The man came towards him, steady and eerily calm for a human._

_He'd opened his eyes, and Kylo found that they were just as blue as Luke Skywalker's. He had heard about his grandfather, but he had never thought that he would be right in front of his eyes one day._

_"Hello, Kylo," he spoke, which startled the Sith, "I'm sorry if I startled you, I just needed to show you something before you went unprepared."_

_His motives were obvious, but Kylo felt some sort of uncertainty behind his calm words. He couldn't speak, letting the man carry on with his words._

_"In case you are wondering, I am Anakin Skywalker. You would know me as the legendary Darth Vader."_

_"You... you're my grandfather?"_

_The man gave him a bored look, as if to say, 'haven't you noticed by now?'_

_"Why yes, young Kylo," he replied, showing no traces of agitation, "I'd like to show you something. Would you please stay still?"_

His body obeyed the Force ghost's commands, unbeknownst to Kylo. His vision went black, and a scene unfolded.

_A young Master Luke had been carrying a black body in his arms, stumbling for a shuttle. He collapsed from the strain, the figure in black drawing him closer._

_Kylo saw it clearly, the figure in black being Darth Vader, his grandfather._

_"Luke, help me take this mask off," he heard Vader whisper, through the sound of his loud, strained breathing._

_Master Luke protested, "but you'll die."_

_"Nothing can stop that now. Just for once... let me look on you with my own eyes."_

_Hesitantly, he removed the mask from his father's face. Kylo winced slightly at the sight of his grandfather's scarred face, and underneath the face of an dying man._

_Darth Vader- no, Anakin Skywalker, smiled at the sight of his son before him. He whispered weakly, "Now...go, my son. Leave me."_

_"No. You're coming with me. I can't leave you here. I've got to save you."_

_"You already have, Luke. You were right about me. Tell your sister...you were right."_

_"Father...I won't leave you," stubborness apparently did run in the family, Kylo concluded._

_Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker... Kylo's grandfather and Master Luke's father, died. A huge explosion rocked the docking bay. Slowly, he rose and, half carrying, half dragging the body of his father, stumbled toward a shuttle._

As the vision ended, Kylo felt rage. They all _lied_. The whole world had lied to him, saying that Darth Vader was the strongest Sith that ever lived. He had _aspired_ to be him. In his rage, the dark side of the Force complied to his hate, and the whole bunker shook. He screamed, letting out all the emotions through the Force.

Ben felt sympathy towards Kylo for the first time, pitying him being lied to all his life, he also felt pity towards his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker. To think the man lived in such a torturous environment as he was living now, he felt sad that it had happened to his grandfather. If only he could fight back as Anakin did... he would be happy just by the mere thought of it.

"Lies!" Kylo screamed, flicking the switch on his lightsaber and slashing the part of the wall where Anakin's Force ghost had been.

Ben tried reaching out to the Dark boy, but it was to no avail. He was struck by such a giant wave of emotion, he nearly cried out in pain.

Kylo was weak, he found, weak with all his emotions that led to his power.

Was his Dark side just misunderstood? But it wasn't time to be sympathetic. It was time he fought back. But Kylo had other plans.

He was going to pay a visit to their mother.

________

" _Lies_!" Leia heard her son shout through the Force, his voice filled with rage and agony.

 _Ben, what have you done now?_ she thought, but then she remembered, that her son was no more. That her son was a _monster_. That he had killed his own father. He had killed her husband.

She knew, that it wasn't time for rage against Kylo, that she would be no better than he was if she'd let the rage win.

She calmed herself, but she knew that it was time for her. Kylo Ren himself would show up at her door, and she would return to the Force.

________

Rey shakily took in a breath after feeling the great deal of rage that vibrated throughout the Force. Master Luke had also felt it, she could tell from his stony expression.

She kept her stance, and tried to focus on piloting. She was going to get to Senator Leia before Kylo did.

________

Kylo entered, finding Leia in a meditating stance on the floor. She showed no signs of tenseness, which he put as her knowing that she was going to die.

As his lightsaber neared her throat, she moved, startling her son. She wasn't going down without a fight, Kylo mused, but it was her end, he felt. He knew she felt it too.

She flicked on her own lightsaber, the fluorescent blue outshining his deep red. If there had to be a duel to the death, then Kylo would have it.

"I don't want to fight you, Ben," she looked into his eyes endearingly, and Kylo had felt the slightest bit of good seep through him, but he shook it off. He was going to win.

He leapt, and Leia rolled away from his blind slashes, faked running to his left, but bolted to the right.

They clashed lightsabers in quick motion, the flurry of blue and red making it hard to focus. Leia had disarmed him, but he had the dark side of the Force by his side.

He could feel Ben screaming at him not to do it to his mother- _their_ mother, but he didn't listen. He clenched his fist, and like an extended, invisible hand, the Force obeyed his command and clenched around Leia's neck.

"You're going to regret this, Ben," she gasped, "I know you're in there. I know..."

She vanished into the embrace of the Force, and he grinned wickedly at the sound of Ben screaming in agony as he lost his mother.

________

Luke felt a sharp pain course through himself as he lost his twin sister. Tears had been running down his face unknowingly, and he'd never cried since he knew that Han was dead.

Rey felt it too, as there were tears streaming down her face and she was holding down a loud sob.

Luke had lost everyone. His best friend, and now his sister. And it was all because of his nephew. All because of him.

He felt sadness instead of the rage he was expecting to build up, and he cried harder than ever, sobbing as an emotional mess.

Rey never knew Leia as much as Master Luke did, but she was a motherly figure that she looked up to. She looked down at herself, and found that she was ironically wearing the only thing that she had been given. That _Leia_ gave her.

The jacket smelled of Rey now, with little hints of the soap used to wash it clean every time she went to Leia, sweaty and exhausted from her training. She had memories when she would always be comforted when she had nightmares, Leia being the mother she never had.

The two Jedi cried in grief of Leia, trying to comfort each other as the Millennium Falcon soared. There was no turning back.

________

Kylo had weakened. He could feel it, coursing through his bones. The good in him was growing stronger, and he knew it was going to consume him anytime soon.

Ben was pushing through the defenses Kylo had made in his mind, imprisoning him until now when he found that it had weakened. The mental battle would take place, and Ben had to win. He had to win to have his control back. He had to.

He started feeding memories into Kylo's mind. He started with the image of their parents, smiling over him as he was born. He started with the warmest memories he could muster, then it started growing colder, and colder.

He ended the memories with the last thing he saw, their mother, being Force-choked by Kylo.

Kylo was overwhelmed by the first memories. All the good in those memories were sickening to his stomach, and he pushed back, trying to make it stop, but to no avail. He was growing anxious by the minute, but Ben had stayed calm.

Ben knew what he was doing was weakening Kylo, ripping every layer of his defenses apart, causing him great pain. When the Dark pushed, he pushed back, ten times stronger. He was growing stronger and stronger by the minute, and Kylo Ren was going to be no more.

Ben started feeling the Force again after being closed off for so long. It flowed through his veins, strengthening him in the battle against his Dark side.

Kylo was losing. He was losing control. _How the tables have turned_ , he thought in his last moments, _oh, how the tables have turned_.

Ben Solo had won, and Kylo Ren was no more.

But the damage that the Dark side of him had caused, couldn't be fixed. It couldn't.

________

Han and Leia smiled at their son in pride. They knew that he could win the fight against Kylo. Best of all, they were reconciled in the Force, never to be separated ever again.

"I've missed you, Leia."

"I know."

 

**Author's Note:**

> (A/N) I'm not crying you're crying  
> hOLY SHIT THAT WAS 3K I'M SOBBING  
> let's sob together at how emotional that was bye  
> come stalk me on twitter at @immablackowl and cry with me k?


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